Abstract

The positive economic performance of Macedonian economy before the onset of the global economic crisis did not spilled over its effects on the improvements of job creation, inequality and poverty. In 2007, Macedonia experienced 6.1% real GDP growth, thus reaching the pre-transition level of GDP growth, but at the same time, the unemployment rate and the relative poverty rate were one of the highest in Europe, 34.9% and 29.4%, respectively. The global economic crisis worsened the economic developments in the country, further increasing the poverty rates (30.4% relative poverty rate in 2012) and inequality (Gini index in 2011 is 44.2), while the rate of unemployment remained above 30%.
In the policy responses to counteract the impact of the economic crisis, Macedonian government introduced different set of measures mainly focused on the support of the private sector. Parts of the measures were announced as direct improvement of the labour market and the protection of vulnerable groups.
Most of the recent studies assessing the impact of the Government policies during the crisis are mainly focused on the capacities in sustaining the macroeconomic stability of the economy, while only few addressed the effects and impact of the policies in improving the employment, social protection and reduction of poverty.
This analysis puts focus on the Government employment policies and poverty-reduction programs introduced in the period from 2007 until 2013. The aim of the research is to explore the effectiveness of the government programs through the assessment of their design and implementation, the level of their usage by the targeted social groups and the government consistency in their enforcement. This research also explore the ability of the programs to produce medium to long-term results and thus give real positive impact on the unemployment and poverty in the country.
The research is based on the analysis of the government documents, official statistics data and secondary data.